Judge Seals Testimony of Upcoming Rielle Hunter Deposition

Image by Getty Images via Daylife

Bad news for National Enquirer readers: The Raleigh News & Observer reports that Hillsborough County Superior Court Judge Allen Baddour has ordered sealed any information gleaned from the as-yet unscheduled deposition of  Rielle Hunter, campaign videographer and canoodler of former presidential candidate John Edwards, in her lawsuit against Andrew Young, former Edwards aide and philanderer surrogate, concerning ownership rights of a sex tape starring Hunter and Edwards, the one-term, two-timing U.S. Senator from North Carolina.

Judge Baddour's order will keep Hunter's musings under oath under seal for 45 days, after which he will entertain arguments for extending the order.  Hunter's attorneys had tried to obtain a more extensive order from Judge Baddour that would have sealed all depositions in the case and imposed on parties a gag order preventing them from discussing the contents of deposition testimony in public.

Hunter's attorneys argued that exposing Hunter's testimony to public view would subject their client to an invasion of privacy and would be harmful to her reputation.  An interesting, if unpersuasive argument, given that Hunter freely babbled to Oprah about pitching woo with "Johnny" and posed, sans pants,  in GQ Magazine.

Sorry, "TUOL" readers--as much as you may hope for it, both parties in a civil lawsuit can't lose.